16/07/2026
When humid air becomes so hot that sweat can no longer evaporate from skin, the body’s primary cooling mechanism fails. Known as wet-bulb heat, this condition drives core temperatures upward until organs begin to fail.
Last week’s event — judged by World Weather Attribution to be a once-in-200-year humid-heat extreme and one that would not have occurred in a preindustrial climate — coincided with the country’s 250th anniversary. Temperatures reached 106°F in Atlantic City on July Fourth; New York and Washington recorded their hottest days in more than a decade. Some 180 million people experienced major or extreme heat risk, power outages affected hundreds of thousands, and at least 25 deaths are under investigation as heat-related.
Overnight temperatures that remain near 80°F prevent the body from cooling, a factor that contributed to hundreds of fatalities in past U.S. events and tens of thousands across Europe this June. The human toll in Europe is estimated in the tens of thousands, with France alone losing roughly 2,700 lives.
The heat is already affecting food security: crops are scorched, corn futures have risen, and fertilizer costs are up. The World Bank warns that a strengthening El Niño could cut rice yields by 20–50 percent in vulnerable regions.
Experts note that much of this extreme heat is anthropogenic; historical industry research anticipated these outcomes. At the same time, reductions in forecasting capacity have weakened preparedness in some areas.
Practical steps save lives: stay hydrated, cool pulse points, and check on vulnerable neighbors. Scientists warn a second heat dome is forming over the West, and NOAA says this El Niño could be among the strongest on record. This summer’s extremes may be only the beginning.